Detachable anchor for guiding tool of minimally invasive surgery

ABSTRACT

Disclosed is a detachable anchor for a guiding tool of a minimally invasive surgery. The detachable anchor includes a hollow elongate member arranged to coaxially fit over a shaft of the guiding tool. The detachable anchor also includes an expandable sleeve having a first end and a second end. The expandable sleeve is at least partially double wall structure consisting of an inner wall and an outer wall. The walls are attached to each other at least at the second end of the sleeve. Further, the sleeve is attached at its first end to the hollow clongate member and has an inlet for inflating medium.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure generally relates to the field of surgicaldevices, and more specifically to a detachable anchor for a guiding toolused in a minimally invasive surgery and a method for anchoring theguiding tool to an incision using the detachable anchor.

BACKGROUND

Minimally invasive or laparoscopic surgical procedure has become thefirst choice for a wide range of surgical procedures because of severaladvantages, such as reduced postoperative pain, improved cosmeticresults and reduced hospital stays. Generally, such laparoscopic surgeryutilizes small incisions and surgical tools, such as graspers, scissorsand staplers, configured to be inserted through these incisions.

Typically, guiding tools, such as trocars or cannulas, are insertedthrough these incisions for providing access path for the surgical toolsto reach the target tissues. Often, such incisions are made large enoughsuch that the guiding tools can pass there-through.

However, during the surgical procedure the manipulation of the surgicaltools around the incisions and/or the use of large surgical tools canenlarge or widen such incisions. This can reduce fixation or anchoringof the guiding tools around these incisions. In such instance,controlling an insertion depth for the guiding tools becomes difficultas moving the guiding tools can further widen the incisions and theloosened guiding tool can slip out. Additionally, widening or looseningof the incisions can cause leakage of insufflation gas from around theguiding tools. Such conditions are not favourable and can increaseworkload on the surgeons and can make the surgical procedurechallenging.

Therefore, in light of the foregoing discussion, there exists a need toovercome the aforementioned drawbacks of anchoring a guiding tool to anincision of a minimally invasive surgery. Further, it is desirable tohave a cost effective solution for such anchoring of the guiding tool tothe incision.

BRIEF SUMMARY

The present disclosure seeks to at least partially overcome theaforementioned drawbacks by providing a detachable anchor for a guidingtool of a minimally invasive surgery.

In one aspect, the present disclosure provides a detachable anchor for aguiding tool of a minimally invasive surgery. The detachable anchortypically comprises a hollow elongate member arranged to coaxially fitover a shaft of the guiding tool. The detachable anchor also comprisesan expandable sleeve having a first end and a second end. The expandablesleeve has at least partially double wall structure consisting of aninner wall and an outer wall. The walls are attached to each other atleast at the second end of the sleeve. Further, the sleeve is attachedat its first end to the hollow elongate member and has an inlet forinflating medium.

In another aspect, the present disclosure provides a method forarranging a detachable anchor over a guiding tool of a minimallyinvasive surgery. The method typically comprises steps of arranging adetachable anchor, having a hollow elongate member and an expandablesleeve, over a shaft of a guiding tool with the expandable sleeve rolledup next to the hollow elongate member and thereafter, unrolling theexpandable sleeve over the shaft of the guiding tool.

Additional aspects, advantages, features and objects of the presentdisclosure will be made apparent from the drawings and the detaileddescription of the illustrative embodiments construed in conjunctionwith the appended claims that follow.

It will be appreciated that features of the present disclosure aresusceptible to being combined in various combinations without departingfrom the scope of the present disclosure as defined by the appendedclaims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an isometric view of a detachable anchor for a guiding tool ofa minimally invasive surgery, in accordance with an embodiment of thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 2 is an isometric view of the detachable anchor with an expandablesleeve thereof in an unrolled state, in accordance with an embodiment ofthe present disclosure;

FIGS. 3A-3B are cross-sectional views of a hollow elongate member of thedetachable anchor with a first end of the expandable sleeve attached tothe hollow elongate member, in accordance with an embodiment of thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 4 is an isometric view of the detachable anchor arranged on a shaftof the guiding tool, such as a trocar, with the expandable sleeve in arolled state, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure

FIG. 5 is an isometric view of the detachable anchor arranged on theshaft of the guiding tool with the expandable sleeve in the unrolledstate, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 6 is an isometric view of the detachable anchor arranged on theshaft of the guiding tool with the expandable sleeve in an inflatedstate, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 7 is a sectional view of a female abdominal cavity with detachableanchors anchoring guiding tools in surgical incisions of a laparoscopicsurgical procedure, in accordance with an embodiment of the presentdisclosure; and

FIGS. 8A-E show some steps of a method for anchoring a guiding tool,using a detachable anchor of the present disclosure, to a surgicalincision of a minimally invasive surgery; in accordance with anembodiment of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS OF THE DISCLOSURE

The following detailed description illustrates embodiments of thepresent disclosure and ways in which they can be implemented. Althoughthe best mode of carrying out the present disclosure has been disclosed,those in the art would recognize that other embodiments for carrying outor practicing the present disclosure are also possible.

In one aspect, embodiments of the present disclosure disclose adetachable anchor for a guiding tool for a minimally invasive surgery.The term “guiding tool” used herein refers to a tool which is used inthe minimally invasive surgery for primarily providing an access pathfor a surgical tool (for example graspers, scissors and staplers) toreach the target tissue. The guiding tool is configured to be insertedthrough a surgical incision, made during the minimally invasive surgery,for defining the access path through which the surgical tool can beinserted. In an example, the guiding tool can be an elongated hollowtool, which can be inserted through the surgical incision, andconfigured to receive the surgical tool there-through. For example, theguiding tool can be a trocar or a cannula. Alternatively, the guidingtool can be an arthroscope used in an arthroscopic surgical procedure ora catheter to be inserted through an abdominal wall.

The detachable anchor typically comprises a hollow elongate memberarranged to coaxially fit over a shaft of the guiding tool. Thedetachable anchor also typically comprises an expandable sleeve having afirst end and a second end as well as having at least partially doublewall structure consisting of an inner wall and an outer wall, whereinthe walls are attached to each other at least at the second end of thesleeve. The sleeve is further attached at its first end to the hollowelongate member, and has an inlet for inflating medium.

In an embodiment, the second end of the expandable sleeve may have asingle wall, for example, at the second end of the expandable sleeve theinner wall and the outer wall may be fused together to form the singlewall.

According to an embodiment, the hollow elongate member includes acircular cross-section, i.e. the hollow elongate member is a tubularstructure. Alternatively, the hollow elongate member may have oval orpolygonal cross-section.

In an embodiment, the hollow elongate member comprises a first portion,a second portion integrally extending from the first portion and anopening extending through the first portion and the second portion,wherein the first portion and second portion are co-axial. The firstportion optionally includes a thickness larger as compared to athickness of the second portion, and a length smaller as compared to alength of the second portion. The opening preferably has a uniformdiameter throughout the first portion and the second portion. The hollowelongate member may be made of a substantially hard biocompatiblematerial selected from the group consisting of metal, plastic, glass,ceramic, fiber-reinforced plastic or any combination thereof.

The detachable anchor also typically comprises an expandable sleevehaving a first end and a second end. The first end of the expandablesleeve is defined to be a proximal end with respect to the hollowelongate member. The second end of the expandable sleeve is thus definedto be a distal end with respect to the hollow elongate member, forexample, when the detachable anchor is arranged over the guiding tooland the expandable sleeve is unrolled over a shaft of the guiding tool.

The expandable sleeve is preferably tubular in shape. Further, theexpandable sleeve has a double wall structure consisting of an innerwall and an outer wall. The walls are attached to each other at least atthe second end of the sleeve. Also, the expandable sleeve is attached atits first end to the hollow elongate member and has an inlet forinflating medium at the first end.

In one embodiment, a band is arranged to secure the first end of theexpandable sleeve to the hollow elongate member. The band secures thefirst end of the expandable sleeve over the second portion, adjacent tothe first portion. Further, the expandable sleeve is most preferablyelastic in nature, i.e. made of an elastic material. For example, theexpandable sleeve can be made of an elastic biocompatible materialselected from the group consisting of elastic polymeric material, suchas silicone, polyisoprene, polyurethane, rubber, latex and elasticcomposite polymeric material.

The tubular structure and the preferred elastic nature of the expandablesleeve allow the expandable sleeve to snugly fit over the hollowelongate member. Specifically, a diameter of the expandable sleeve canbe smaller as compared to a diameter of the second portion of the hollowelongate member; therefore the expandable sleeve can snugly fit over thesecond portion. Moreover, in one embodiment, the inner wall of theexpandable sleeve at its first end can be attached to an outer surfaceof the second portion using an adhesive for further strengthening theattachment between the expandable sleeve and the hollow elongate member.

In one embodiment, the diameter of the expandable sleeve, preferably inthe rolled up state, can be larger as compared to the diameter of thesecond portion of the hollow elongate member. Specifically, theexpandable sleeve can be rolled on an external application element, suchas a ring, having larger diameter as compared to the diameter of thesecond portion of the hollow elongate member. Accordingly, theexpandable sleeve (in the rolled up state) can be easily arranged on thesecond portion of the hollow elongate member. Further, the externalapplication element can be removed when the expandable sleeve isunrolled over the shaft of the guiding tool.

Generally, the sleeve can be arranged to be rolled up towards its firstend next to the hollow elongate member, when the detachable anchor is inan unutilized state. For example, the expandable sleeve is rolled up tofit over the second portion next to the first portion in the unutilizedstate thereof.

According to an embodiment, the hollow elongate member further comprisesan inlet and an outlet for inflating medium. The outlet is connected tothe inlet for inflating medium in the expandable sleeve. The outlet ofthe hollow elongate member and the inlet of the expandable sleeve arepreferably configured to have an airtight fluidic coupling there-betweensuch that when an inflating medium is delivered there-through there isno leakage of the inflating medium from there-around. For example, thefirst end of the expandable sleeve can be such that both walls areattached to each other and then the expandable sleeve is attached to thehollow elongate member, with an opening for the inlet of the inflatingmedium. Alternatively, both walls can be attached separately to thehollow elongate member so that the inflating medium can enter in betweenthe walls through an entire circumference of the expandable sleeve aboutthe first end.

The detachable anchor according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure comprises a connector or valve adapted to be coupled to theinlet of the hollow elongate member. In one embodiment, the connectorcan be an integral portion of the hollow elongate member instead ofbeing a separate component. The connector is adapted to connect thehollow elongate member of the detachable anchor to an inflatingarrangement for inflating the expandable sleeve of the detachableanchor. In an example, the inflating arrangement includes an elongatedpipe adapted to be coupled to the connector and a syringe adapted to beconnected to the elongated pipe and carrying the inflating mediumtherein.

In one embodiment, the thickness of at least one of the two walls of theexpandable sleeve varies along its length. The length of the sleeve is adistance between its first and second ends. The thickness of at leastone of the walls of the expandable sleeve may be smaller at its secondend than at its first end. Moreover, the thickness of only one wall canvary along its length. For example, the outer wall can have varyingthickness (smaller thickness at its second end than at its first end)along its length, whereas the inner wall can have a uniform thicknessalong the length thereof.

The expandable sleeve can be inflated with the help the inflatingarrangement using the inflating medium. The inflating medium can be aliquid or gas. In one embodiment, the inflating medium can be air whichcan be delivered to the expandable sleeve with the help of the inflatingarrangement, i.e. the elongated pipe and the syringe. Alternatively,water, saline solution or an inert gas can be used as the inflatingmedium.

The expandable sleeve preferably inflates non-uniformly due to varyingthickness of the walls thereof. As mentioned herein, the thickness ofthe inner wall of the expandable sleeve can be smaller at the second endas compared to the thickness of the inner wall at the first end.Therefore, the second end of the expandable sleeve can inflate morecompared to the first end of the expandable sleeve, when the inflatingmedium is delivered into the expandable sleeve by the inflatingarrangement. Moreover, the non-uniform expansion of the sleeve may beaccomplished with the use of polymers with different elastic properties.For example, the expandable sleeve may be made of composite polymershaving varying elastic properties at different locations based on itsmolecular structure.

According to yet another embodiment, the sleeve is arranged to be rolledup towards its first end. This makes it easier to combine the anchorwith a guiding tool, and the sleeve can be rolled up while inserting theanchor over a shaft of the guiding tool, and further rolled down oncethe hollow elongate member is correctly positioned over the shaft.

The detachable anchor according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure comprises a spacer arranged between the two walls of theexpandable sleeve. The spacer can be a wire, a tube or a thickprotrusion from the expandable sleeve. The spacer extends from its firstend towards its second end. According to an embodiment, the spacerextends on at least 80% of the length of the expandable sleeve. Thespacer helps the inflating medium to suitably flow along the length ofthe expandable sleeve. Specifically, the spacer is configured todistribute the inflating medium evenly along the length of theexpandable sleeve. For example, the spacer provides small openings oneither side thereof, and the openings help the inflating medium tosuitably flow along the length of the expandable sleeve when theinflating medium is delivered to the expandable sleeve by the inflatingarrangement. The spacer is preferably flexible in nature, since thespacer is adapted to be placed between the walls of the expandablesleeve and the expandable sleeve is configured to be rolled in theunutilized state. The spacer can be made of a flexible biocompatiblematerial selected from the group consisting of flexible polymericmaterial, such as silicone rubber, polytetrafluoroethylene,polyethylene, polypropylene or fixable composite polymeric material.

In one embodiment, the detachable anchor optionally includes a tube,instead of or in addition to the spacer, arranged between the two wallsof the expandable sleeve. The tube extends from its first end towardsits second end and is connected to the inlet of inflating medium. Thetube is thus arranged to conduct the inflating medium into theexpandable sleeve. The tube may include a plurality of holes arrangedalong its length. The plurality of holes is thus configured in deliverthe inflating medium into the expandable sleeve when the detachableanchor is fluidically connected to the inflating arrangement.

The present description also relates to a method for arranging adetachable anchor according to this description, over a guiding tool ofa minimally invasive surgery, comprising the steps of arranging thedetachable anchor over a shaft of the guiding tool, while the sleeve ofthe detachable anchor is rolled up next to the hollow elongate member,and unrolling the sleeve over the shaft of the guiding tool.

The detachable anchor can thus be easily arranged on the guiding tool,such as a trocar. Initially, the guiding tool is inserted through thedetachable anchor while the sleeve is rolled up, and thereafter theexpandable sleeve of the detachable anchor is unrolled over the shaft ofthe guiding tool for snugly securing the detachable anchor to theguiding tool. The guiding tool along with the detachable anchor can beinserted through an incision of a laparoscopic surgical procedure. Thedetachable anchor accordingly hermetically anchors the guiding tool tothe incision when the expandable sleeve is inflated with the inflatingmedium. Therefore, the guiding tool is configured to have a very limitedmovement with respect to the surgical incision even when an upward or adownward force is applied on the guiding tool. The detachable anchoraccordingly avoids slipping or any undesirable movement of the guidingtool with respect to the incision. Moreover, the detachable anchorhermetically seals the surgical incision to avoid any leakage ofinsufflation gas from within a patient's body through the surgicalincision.

The trocar can be easily maneuvered about the surgical incision onceanchored to the surgical incision using the detachable anchor.Specifically, the expandable sleeve gets squeezed, when the trocar ismaneuvered about the surgical incision, moving the inflating medium fromone side to another. For example, when the trocar is tilted towards theleft the inflating medium, within the expandable sleeve, move towardsthe right and vice-versa. This provides better maneuverability to thetrocar about the surgical incision when used in the laparoscopicsurgical procedure.

Further, at the end of the laparoscopic surgical procedure, theexpandable sleeve can be deflated by removing the inflating medium fromthe expandable sleeve. In an example, the expandable sleeve can bedeflated by drawing the inflating medium out of the expandable sleeve bythe syringe. Alternatively, the elongated pipe can be decoupled from theconnector for allowing the inflating medium to flow out of theexpandable sleeve. Thereafter and once the guiding tool has been removedfrom the surgical incision, the detachable anchor can be detached fromthe guiding tool by simply rolling back the expandable sleeve towardsits first end next to the hollow elongate member.

In yet another aspect, the present disclosure discloses a method foranchoring a guiding tool, such as a trocar, to a surgical incision madeduring a minimally invasive surgery. The method comprises arranging adetachable anchor according to the present disclosure over a shaft ofthe guiding tool, while the sleeve of the anchor is rolled up next tothe hollow elongate member; unrolling the sleeve over the shaft of theguiding tool; inserting the guiding tool with the detachable anchor intothe surgical incision; attaching an inflating medium outlet to theinflating medium inlet of the detachable anchor and inserting theinflating medium to the sleeve so that it inflates and thus retains theguiding tool in place in the surgical incision.

The method thus typically starts with arranging the detachable anchoraccording to the present disclosure over the shaft of the guiding tool,while the expandable sleeve of the detachable anchor is rolled up nextto the hollow elongate member. Specifically, the guiding tool isinserted through the opening of the hollow elongate member such that thehollow elongate member rests on the shaft of the guiding tool.

At a further step, the method includes unrolling the sleeve over theshaft of the guiding tool. In this instance, the expandable sleeve dueto its preferred elastic nature snugly secures the detachable anchorover the shaft of the guiding tool.

At a further step, the method includes inserting the guiding tool withthe detachable anchor into a surgical incision. The surgical incisioncan be an incision made in a patient's body for performing alaparoscopic surgical procedure. Further, the incision utilizes aguiding tool for being inserted there-through to provide an access pathfor a surgical tool to be used in the laparoscopic surgical procedure.

At a further step, the method includes attaching the inflating mediumoutlet to the inflating medium inlet of the detachable anchor.Specifically, the detachable anchor is fluidically coupled to aninflating arrangement capable of delivering the inflating medium intothe expandable sleeve. For example, an elongated pipe can be coupled tothe connector of the detachable anchor, and the elongated pipe isfurther coupled to a syringe, which carries the inflating mediumtherein.

At a further step, the method includes inserting the inflating medium tothe sleeve so that it inflates and thus retains the guiding tool inplace in the surgical incision. For example, a plunger of the syringecan be pushed to inject the inflating medium out of the syringe. Theinflating medium accordingly enters through the inlet of the hollowelongate member for being delivered to the expandable sleeve through theinlet of the expandable sleeve connected to the outlet of the hollowelongate member. The inflating medium could also be inserted directly tothe inlet of the expandable sleeve, i.e. it is not obligatory that theinflating medium passes through the hollow elongate member. Therefore,the inner wall of the expandable sleeve comes into contact with theshaft of the guiding tool and the outer wall of the expandable sleevecomes into contact with body tissues along the surgical incision, forsnugly securing the detachable anchor with the surgical incision. Theguiding tool is accordingly snugly secured to the incision and providesan access path for a surgical tool to be used in the laparoscopicsurgery procedure.

It will be appreciated that the above steps of the method as well as theembodiments of the device are only illustrative and other alternativescan also be provided where one or more steps are added, one or moresteps are removed, or one or more steps are provided in a differentsequence.

The embodiments of the present disclosure are thus directed towards adetachable anchor which can be used in a laparoscopic surgicalprocedure. Specifically, the detachable anchor can be used for anchoringa guiding tool, such as a trocar, to an incision made in thelaparoscopic surgical procedure. In use, the detachable anchor can beeasily arranged on the guiding tool, i.e., the guiding tool can besimply inserted through the detachable anchor and thereafter theexpandable sleeve can be unrolled over the shaft of the guiding tool forsnugly securing the detachable anchor on the guiding tool. Thedetachable anchor can snugly and firmly hold the guiding tool to theincision, when the expandable sleeve is inflated with the help of amedium using an inflating arrangement. This helps the surgeons toconveniently and confidently use surgical tools through the guiding toolduring the laparoscopic surgical procedure because the detachable anchorlimits the undesirable movements of the guiding tool with respect to theincision. For example, with a limited movement of the guiding tool withrespect to the incision a surgeon can easily reach a target tissue, evenwhen an upward or a downward force needs to be applied on the guidingtool for the manipulation of a surgical tool. Further, the detachableanchor hermetically seals the incision to avoid any leakage of theinsufflation gas from around the guiding tools or through the incisionduring the laparoscopic surgical procedure. Moreover, the detachableanchor can be easily removed from the guiding tool at the end of thelaparoscopic surgical procedure, allowing the guiding tool to be againused in conjunction with another detachable anchor in anotherlaparoscopic surgical procedure. Therefore, the detachable anchor of thepresent disclosure provides a cost effective and/or economic solutionfor anchoring a guiding tool to an incision made in the laparoscopicsurgical procedure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The summary above, as well as the above and following detaileddescription of illustrative embodiments, is better understood when readin conjunction with the appended drawings. For the purpose ofillustrating embodiments of the present disclosure, exemplaryconstructions of the disclosure are shown in the drawings. However, thepresent disclosure is not limited to specific a structural component andmethod for using the same as disclosed herein. Moreover, those in theart will understand that the drawings are not to scale. Whereverpossible, like elements have been indicated by identical numbers.

Embodiments of the present disclosure will now be described, by way ofexample only, with reference to the following diagrams. In theaccompanying drawings, a number relates to an item identified by a linelinking the number to the item. When a number is accompanied by anassociated arrow, the number is used to identify a general item at whichthe arrow is pointing.

The present disclosure provides a detachable anchor for a guiding toolused in a minimally invasive surgery; and a method for anchoring theguiding tool using the detachable anchor to an incision made in theminimally invasive surgery. Referring now to the drawings, particularlyby their reference numbers, FIG. 1 is an isometric view of a detachableanchor 100 for a guiding tool, in accordance with an embodiment of thepresent disclosure. The detachable anchor 100 includes a hollow elongatemember 102 and an expandable sleeve 104 arranged on the hollow elongatemember 102.

The hollow elongate member 102 includes a first portion 112 and a secondportion 114 integrally and co-axially extending from the first portion112. The hollow elongate member 102 also includes an opening 116, havinga uniform diameter, passing through the first portion 112 and the secondportion 114.

The expandable sleeve 104 is rolled up to fit over the second portion114, next to the first portion 112, of the hollow elongate member 102.The expandable sleeve 104 is secured to the hollow elongate member 102using a band 120. For example, an unrolled end (not numbered) of theexpandable sleeve 104 close to the first portion 112 is secured to thesecond portion 114 using the band 120.

The detachable anchor 100 also includes a connector 130 connected to thefirst portion 112 of the hollow elongate member 102. The connector 130is adapted to connect the hollow elongate member 102 to an inflatingarrangement for inflating the expandable sleeve 104, which is furtherexplained in detail in conjunction subsequent figures.

Referring now to FIG. 2, an isometric view of the detachable anchor 100is shown with the expandable sleeve 104 in an unrolled state. Theexpandable sleeve 104 is a tubular structure having a first end 142 anda second end 144. The first end 142 of the expandable sleeve 104 is aproximal end with respect to the hollow elongate member 102 and thesecond end 144 of the expandable sleeve 104 is a distal end with respectto the hollow elongate member 102.

The expandable sleeve 104 is attached at its first end 142 to the hollowelongate member 102. For example, as explained above, the first end 142of the expandable sleeve 104 can be secured to the second portion 114next to the first portion 112 using the band 120.

Additionally, the expandable sleeve 104 is elastic in nature (made of anelastic biocompatible material); therefore the expandable sleeve 104 cansnugly fit over the hollow elongate member 102. Further, the expandablesleeve 104 is a double wall structure including an inner wall 146 and anouter wall 148. The inner wall 146 and the outer wall 148 are attachedto each other at the second end 144 of the expandable sleeve 104.

The detachable anchor 100 also includes a spacer 150 (shown with hiddenlines), arranged between the inner wall 146 and the outer wall 148 ofthe expandable sleeve 104. The spacer 150 extends from its first end152, which is the same end as the first end 142 of the sleeve 104,towards its second end 154 which is towards to second end 144 of thesleeve 104. Further, the spacer 150 extends partially along the lengthof the expandable sleeve 104, for example, the spacer 150 can extend atleast 80% of the length of the expandable sleeve 104. The spacer 150 isconfigured to space apart the inner wall 146 and the outer wall 148along its length thereof in the rolled and unrolled states of theexpandable sleeve 104. The detachable anchor 100 can optionally includea tube instead of the spacer 150, which is further explained in detailin conjunction FIG. 3B.

Referring now to FIGS. 3A-3B, cross-sectional views of the hollowelongate member 102 of the detachable anchor are shown, in accordancewith embodiments of the present disclosure. FIGS. 3A illustrates thefirst end 142 of the expandable sleeve 104 attached to the secondportion 114 of the hollow elongate member 102 by the band 120. FIG. 3Aalso illustrates an inlet 162 and an outlet 164 for the hollow elongatemember 102 arranged on the first portion 112. FIG. 3A furtherillustrates an inlet 166 for the expandable sleeve 104 at its first end142. The outlet 164 for the hollow elongate member 102 is connected tothe inlet 166 for the expandable sleeve 104. As shown, the outlet 164 isa small tubular projection coupled to the inlet 166 for the expandablesleeve 104.

Referring now to FIG. 3B, the detachable anchor is shown to optionallyinclude a tube 170 arranged between the inner wall 146 and the outerwall 148 of the expandable sleeve 104. The tube 170 extends from itsfirst end 172 towards its second end 174. The second end 174 of the tube170 is actually proximate to the second end 144 (shown in FIG. 2) of theexpandable sleeve 104, as the tube 170 is shown partially, labelling ofthe second end 174 should not be confusing. The tube 170 can also extendpartially along the length of the expandable sleeve 104 similar to thespacer. Further, the tube 170 is connected to an inlet of inflatingmedium. For example, the first end 172 of the tube 170 is connected tothe inlet 166 of the expandable sleeve 104 and to the outlet 164 for thehollow elongate member 102. The tube 170 includes a plurality of holes176 arranged along a length of the tube 170.

Referring now to FIG. 4, an isometric view of the detachable anchor 100arranged on a guiding tool 200 (such as a trocar) is shown, inaccordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. The detachableanchor 100 is inserted through the guiding tool 200 to coaxially fitover a shaft 202 of the guiding tool. Specifically, the guiding tool 200is inserted through the opening 116 (shown in FIG. 1) of the hollowelongate member 102 for allowing the detachable anchor 100 to rest onthe shaft 202 of the guiding tool 200. Further, FIG. 4 illustrates theexpandable sleeve 104 of the detachable anchor 100 in the rolled state.

Referring now to FIG. 5, the detachable anchor 100 is shown to bearranged on the shaft 202 of the guiding tool 200 with the expandablesleeve 104 in the unrolled state, in accordance with an embodiment ofthe present disclosure. As shown, the expandable sleeve 104 is unrolledover the shaft 202 of the guiding tool 200 for substantially covering alength of the shaft 202. In this instance, the expandable sleeve 104 dueto its elastic nature snugly fits over the shaft 202, and thereby snuglysecures the detachable anchor 100 over the guiding tool 200.

Referring now to FIG. 6, the detachable anchor 100 is shown to bearranged on the shaft 202 of the guiding tool 200 with the expandablesleeve 104 in an inflated state, in accordance with an embodiment of thepresent disclosure. Once the expandable sleeve 104 snugly fits over theshaft 202 of the guiding tool 200, the expandable sleeve 104 can beinflated with help of an inflating arrangement. In an example, theinflating arrangement includes an elongated pipe 302 adapted to becoupled to the connector 130 and a syringe 304 connected to theelongated pipe 302 and adapted to carry the inflating medium therein.

The inflating medium reaches the expandable sleeve 104 through a fluidiccommunication established between the syringe 304 and the expandablesleeve 104. Specifically, the inflating medium carried by the syringe304 is delivered to the connector 130 with the help of the elongatedpipe 302 when a plunger 306 of the syringe 304 is pushed to inject theinflating medium out of the syringe 304. Thereafter, the inflatingmedium enters through the inlet 162 (shown in FIGS. 3A-B) of the hollowelongate member 102 for being delivered to the expandable sleeve 104through the inlet 166 (shown in FIGS. 3A-B) of the expandable sleeve104. In case the detachable anchor 100 includes the tube 170 (shown inFIG. 3B) then the inflating medium is delivered into the expandablesleeve 104 through the holes 176 (shown in FIG. 3B) of the tube.

Once the inflating medium reaches the expandable sleeve 104, theexpandable sleeve 104 attains the inflated state. The spacer 150 (shownin FIG. 2) or the tube 170 (shown in FIG. 3B), arranged between theinner wall and the outer wall of the expandable sleeve 104, can help theinflating medium to suitably flow along the length of the expandablesleeve 104 for inflation thereof. Specifically, the spacer or the tubeprovides small openings on either side thereof for allowing theinflating medium to easily flow along the length the expandable sleeve104.

Further, in this embodiment, due to the varying thickness the expandablesleeve 104 along the length thereof, the expandable sleeve 104 attains anon-uniform inflation along the length thereof. As shown in FIG. 6, thesecond end 144 of the expandable sleeve 104 inflates more compared tothe first end 142 of the expandable sleeve 104, when the inflatingmedium is delivered into the expandable sleeve 104. In an example, theexpandable sleeve 104 is shown to attain a shape substantially similarto an hourglass shape.

Referring now to FIG. 7, a sectional view of a female abdominal cavity400 is shown during a laparoscopic surgical procedure with detachableanchors 100 a and 100 b anchoring guiding tools 200 a and 200 b (such astrocars) in surgical incisions 402 a and 402 b, in accordance with anembodiment of the present disclosure. The detachable anchors 100 a and100 b hermetically anchor the guiding tools 200 a and 200 b in theincisions 402 a and 402 b. It is to be understood that the detachableanchors 100 a and 100 b shown herein are structurally and functionallysimilar to the detachable anchor 100, and therefore the detachableanchors 100 a and 100 b are explained herein later using thecorresponding numerals of the detachable anchor 100.

The detachable anchors 100 a and 100 b are shown arranged on the guidingtools 200 a and 200 b, respectively. Further, the guiding tools 200 aand 200 b along with the detachable anchors 100 a and 100 b are showninserted through the surgical incisions 402 a and 402 b, respectively.Moreover, the expandable sleeves 104 a and 104 b of the detachableanchors 100 a and 100 b are shown in the inflated state. In thisinstance, the inflated expandable sleeves 104 a and 104 b anchors theguiding tools 200 a and 200 b to the surgical incisions 402 a and 402 b,respectively. More specifically, the expandable sleeves 104 a and 104 binflate in such a manner such that the outer walls of the expandablesleeves 104 a and 104 b snugly conform to the contours of the surgicalincisions 402 a and 402 b, respectively, for snugly anchoring theguiding tools 200 a and 200 b to the surgical incisions 402 a and 402 b,respectively.

The expandable sleeves 104 a and 104 b are further shown to inflate moreat their first ends as compared to their second ends (this is due to thevarying thickness of the expandable sleeves 104 a and 104 b along theirlengths). The guiding tools 200 a and 200 b (anchored to the surgicalincisions 402 a and 402 b with the detachable anchors 100 a and 100 b)provide access paths for the surgical tools to be used in thelaparoscopic surgical procedure. The surgical tools, such as a gasper412 and a light emitting device 414, can be inserted through the guidingtools 200 a and 200 b to reach the target tissues. As shown in FIG. 7,the surgical tools are used for performing a gynaecological laparoscopicprocedure using the access paths provided by the guiding tools 200 a and200 b.

Referring now to FIGS. 8A-E, steps of an exemplary method for anchoringa guiding tool (such as a trocar) to a surgical incision is shown, inaccordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. Morespecifically, the FIGS. 8A-E illustrate exemplary steps to be followedby the detachable anchor 100 for anchoring the guiding tool 200 to anincision of a laparoscopic surgical procedure. In FIG. 8A, thedetachable anchor 100 is arranged on the guiding tool 200. In FIG. 8B,the expandable sleeve 104 of the detachable anchor 100 is unrolled overthe shaft 202 of the guiding tool 200 for snugly securing the detachableanchor 100 over the guiding tool 200. In FIG. 8C, the guiding tool 200with the detachable anchor 100 secured thereto is inserted through thesurgical incision 402. Specifically, the guiding tool 200 is insertedthrough a surgical incision 402 to a desired depth into the abdominalcavity 400. In FIG. 8D, an inflating medium outlet, such as an elongatedpipe 302, is attached to an inflating medium inlet, such as theconnector 130, of the detachable anchor 100. The elongated pipe 302 isconnected to the syringe 304, which carries the inflating mediumtherein. In FIG. 8E the inflating medium is inserted into the expandablesleeve 104 so that the expandable sleeve 104 inflates and thus retainsthe guiding tool 200 in place in the surgical incision 402. For example,the syringe 304 may be operated to inject the inflating medium storedtherein for being delivered to the expandable sleeve 104. The guidingtool 200 accordingly provides an access path for the surgical tool 414to be used in the laparoscopic surgical procedure.

Modifications to embodiments of the present disclosure described in theforegoing are possible without departing from the scope of the presentdisclosure as defined by the accompanying claims. Expressions such as“including”, “comprising”, “incorporating”, “have”, “is” used todescribe and claim the present disclosure are intended to be construedin a non-exclusive manner, namely allowing for items, components orelements not explicitly described also to be present. Reference to thesingular is also to be construed to relate to the plural.

All directional references (e.g., upper, lower, upward, downward, left,right, leftward, rightward, top, bottom, above, below, vertical,horizontal) are only used for identification purposes to aid thereader's understanding of the present disclosure, and may not createlimitations, particularly as to the position, orientation, or use of thedetachable anchor and/or methods disclosed herein. Joinder references(e.g., attached, affixed, secured, coupled, connected, hinged, and thelike) are to be construed broadly and may include intermediate membersbetween a connection of segments and/or suggest relative movementbetween segments. As such, joinder references do not necessarily inferthat two segments are directly connected and in fixed relation to eachother.

Additionally, all numerical terms, such as, but not limited to, “first”,“second”, “third”, or any other ordinary and/or numerical terms, shouldalso be taken only as identifiers, to assist the reader's understandingof the various embodiments, variations and/or modifications of thepresent disclosure, and may not create any limitations, particularly asto the order, or preference, of any embodiment, variation and/ormodification relative to, or over, another embodiment, variation and/ormodification.

While certain exemplary embodiments have been described and shown in theaccompanying drawings, it is to be understood that such embodiments aremerely illustrative of and not restrictive on the broad presentdisclosure, and that this present disclosure not be limited to thespecific constructions and arrangements shown and described, sincevarious other modifications and/or adaptations may occur to those ofskill in the art. It is to be understood that individual features shownor described for one embodiment may be combined with individual featuresshown or described for another embodiment. It is to be understood somefeatures are shown or described to illustrate the use of the presentdisclosure in the context of functional segments and such features maybe omitted within the scope of the present disclosure and withoutdeparting from the spirit of the present disclosure as defined in theappended claims.

1. A detachable anchor for a guiding tool of a minimally invasivesurgery, comprising a hollow elongate member arranged to coaxially fitover a shaft of the guiding tool, and an expandable sleeve having afirst end and a second end, having at least partially double wallstructure consisting of an inner wall and an outer wall, wherein thewalls are attached to each other at least at the second end of thesleeve, wherein the expandable sleeve is attached at its first end tothe hollow elongate member, and includes an inlet for inflating medium.2. A detachable anchor according to claim 1, wherein the hollow elongatemember comprises a first portion, a second portion integrally extendingfrom the first portion and an opening extending through the firstportion and the second portion, wherein the first portion and the secondportion are co-axial.
 3. A detachable anchor according to claim 1wherein the hollow elongate member comprises an inlet and an outlet forinflating medium, the outlet being connected to the inlet for inflatingmedium in the sleeve.
 4. A detachable anchor according to claim 3,wherein the inlet of the hollow elongate member is arranged to becoupled to a connector.
 5. A detachable anchor according to claim 1,wherein the thickness of at least one of the inner and outer walls ofthe sleeve varies along its length.
 6. A detachable anchor according toclaim 5, wherein the thickness of at least one of the inner and outerwalls of the sleeve is smaller at its second end than at its first end.7. A detachable anchor according to claim 5 wherein the thickness ofonly the outer wall varies along its length.
 8. A detachable anchoraccording to claim 5, wherein the expandable sleeve is arranged toinflate non-uniformly when inflated using an inflating medium.
 9. Adetachable anchor according to claim 1, wherein the sleeve is arrangedto be rolled up towards the first end.
 10. A detachable anchor accordingto claim 1, wherein a band is arranged to secure the first end of theexpandable sleeve to the hollow elongate member.
 11. A detachable anchoraccording to claim 1, wherein a spacer is arranged between the inner andouter walls of the sleeve, extending from the first end towards thesecond end.
 12. A detachable anchor according to claim 11, wherein thespacer is configured to distribute the inflating medium evenly along thelength of the expandable sleeve.
 13. A detachable anchor according toclaim 11, wherein the spacer extends on at least 80% of the length ofthe sleeve.
 14. A detachable anchor according to claim 1, furthercomprising a tube for conducting the inflating medium is arrangedbetween the inner and outer walls of the sleeve, extending from thefirst end towards the second end, the tube being connected to the inletof inflating medium.
 15. A detachable anchor according to claim 1,wherein the sleeve comprises elastic polymeric material or elasticcomposite polymeric material.
 16. A detachable anchor according to claim1, wherein the hollow elongate member comprises metal, glass, ceramic,plastic, fiber-reinforced plastic or any combination thereof.
 17. Adetachable anchor according to claim 11, wherein the spacer comprisesflexible polymeric material or flexible composite polymeric material.18. A detachable anchor according to claim 1, wherein the expandablesleeve is arranged to be unrolled over a shaft of the guiding tool forsnugly securing the detachable anchor to the guiding tool.
 19. Adetachable anchor according to claim 18, wherein the sleeve is arrangedto be rolled up towards the first end next to the hollow elongate memberfor detaching the detachable anchor from the guiding tool.
 20. A methodfor arranging a detachable anchor comprising: providing a detachableanchor having: a hollow elongate member arranged to coaxially fit over ashaft of a guiding tool, and an expandable sleeve including a first end,a second end and at least partially double wall structure with an innerwall and an outer wall, wherein the walls are attached to each other atleast at the second end of the sleeve, wherein the expandable sleeve isattached at its first end to the hollow elongate member, and has aninlet for inflating medium; arranging the detachable anchor over a shaftof a guiding tool, while the sleeve of the detachable anchor is rolledup next to the hollow elongate member; and unrolling the sleeve over theshaft of the guiding tool.